McDaniel made stops in Laurel and Hattiesburg Tuesday, while incumbent Cochran visited the Siemens plant in Richland.

"We have the momentum going now and they understand that Washington, D.C., has to be changed and the only way to change Washington, D.C., is to change the people we send there who represent us," McDaniel said.

The tea party has backed McDaniel, as they did David Brat in Virginia primary. In a major upset, Brat defeated Majority Leader Eric Cantor in Tuesday's election. When asked Wednesday about Cantor's loss, Cochran said, "That's politics."

"I think there was a lot of surprise everywhere on the size of the victory and the fact that the leader couldn't defend his service in Congress," Cochran said. "So what else is new in politics? Some people win, some people lose."